After 20 burglaries, a Detroit church struggles to survive

John Carlisle Detroit Free Press Published 9:00 p.m. UTC Aug 2, 2018 They don’t want to flee from Detroit. They’d like to continue the work they came here to do. But the devil is doing his best to stop them. “I just wanted to make a change, man,” said Apostle Michael Beasley, the 55-year-old pastor of Total Life Change Ministries on the city’s west side. “I want to stay, but I can’t tell you I don’t get moments where I’ve thought about leaving.” His church is located inside a defunct elementary school near Greenfield and Tireman. Just a few years ago, he had a nice home and a successful church in the suburbs. Then, he said, he heard the voice of God tell him to move to Detroit, buy this massive school and help rebuild a neighborhood. He followed the call. And his church has been beset by thieves and robbers ever since. Over and over, someone keeps breaking into the building, methodically stealing the copper pipes and copper wiring, leaving the church without water or power. Time and again, the congregation has sealed every crack and crevice they could find. But the scrappers keep forcing their way inside. During one stretch this summer alone, they got into the building seven times in two weeks. Once, faced with barricaded windows and doors, the thieves just sledgehammered their way through a wall to get in. “I don’t get it,” said Elder Jakenya Robinson, 38, the church administrator and pastor’s sister. “I don’t… [Read full story]